Consumers globally are weighed down by concerns about the cost of living and personal finance. Around 74% of Indian respondents say they are worried about their personal finance situation as opposed to 50% globally.
63% of Indian consumers are looking to completely cut down on non-essential spending, according to the 2023 PwC Global Consumer Insights Pulse survey, which included views of 9,180 consumers across 25 sectors.
The survey found that a majority of Indian consumers expect to reduce their spending across all survey categories over the next six months, marking a significant decline in planned spending across all categories since the last Pulse survey in June 2022.
Industries, including luxury and premium products, travel and fashion, are expected to see the largest share of consumer spending decrease over the next six months, while groceries are expected to decline the least.
In India, the survey covered 500 Indian respondents across 12 metros, tier-1 and tier-2 cities of India (Mumbai, Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru, Visakhapatnam, Chennai, Kochi, Kolkata, Nagpur, Jalandhar, Hyderabad, Meerut and Rajkot). got involved. , Of these, 57% of the respondents were male and 43% were female.
PwC surveyed 9,180 consumers through a 15-minute online quantitative survey from October 24 to November 16, 2022. Interviews were conducted with consumers in twenty-five participating regions, and the survey was translated into fourteen languages.
Ravi Kapoor, partner and leader-retail and consumer, PwC India, said, “Consumers will continue to demand world-class shopping experiences across both physical and digital channels, as brands look to reduce costs, increase availability and ‘go on the move’. have to work for. local’. The silver lining here remains the apparent rise in adoption of digital channels and willingness to spend more on travel in the coming months.
Key trends emerging from the survey results:
Cost of living weighs heavily on consumer confidence
Consumers, globally, are shifting their consumption habits to in-store and online as rising cost of living and supply chain disruptions affect product availability and delivery times.
As a result, almost half (45%) say they are buying some products during offers/promotions, 44% are looking for retailers offering better prices, 38% are using comparison sites to find cheaper alternatives 36% are buying in bulk to save cost, and 33% are buying retailers’ private brands for even better savings.
Supply chain disruption is driving changes in in-store/online consumer behavior
Half of Indian consumers (50%) said rising prices were the most commonly experienced problem when shopping in stores, followed by product availability (28%) due to long queues and busy store locations (35%) Also supply chain issues dominate. Which is also affecting the behavior of the consumers.
The luxury/premium product industry will see a decline in consumer spending
Consumers are expected to reduce their spending across all surveyed retail categories over the next six months, with the biggest reductions forecast for luxury/premium products or designer products (38%), virtual online activities (32%), consumer electronics (32%) are planning. and fashion products (clothing and footwear) (31%).
However, an appetite for future spending remains, with 38% indicating they would treat themselves/others, while 54% see them as having a better quality. The least planned spending reductions were recorded in travel (30%) and groceries (21%).
Vocal for Local (Sustainable products are in demand from consumers)
Despite a reduction in planned spending and a challenging economic environment, consumers say they are still willing to pay more for sustainable products.
Overwhelmingly, more than 88% are willing to pay more for a product that is locally produced/sourced, or made from recycled, sustainable, or eco-friendly materials (87%), or ethical Is produced by a company with a reputation for good practices ( 87%).
Metaverse: Early-stage adoption strong, executives recognize importance of risk management, cyber security and governance
The adoption of Metaverse as a shopping channel is still in its early stages, however, with only one-fourth (23%) of Indian respondents familiar with the medium being used.
The largest proportion of these users have employed Metaverse primarily for virtual reality (VR), i.e. virtual world experience through playing games or watching movies (20%), retail environments or concerts (13%) making, or purchasing digital products, such as non-fungible tokens, or NFTs (17%).
Millennials (36%) are most likely to use the metaverse, especially in countries such as India (48%), Vietnam (43%), and Hong Kong (42%).
All the while, as the amount of online shopping continues to grow, consumers are weary of data privacy. 65% of respondents are extremely or very concerned when interacting with social media companies, third-party/portal travel websites (54%), healthcare (59%), and consumer companies (58%).
As a result, 41% of respondents share no more personal data than necessary, 37% opt-out of receiving communications from these companies, and 38% have reduced their interactions with these types of companies overall.
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